During my stay at the JW Marriot Phuket on May 28, my wife and I had several problems. They were associated with a concierge giving us incorrect information, the lack of cleanliness in our room, and paying for a 1.5 hour spa service and being asked to leave after an hour so they could close. After many attempts to find a solution, management was unwilling to work with us. The first time we came to them with a problem, the desk staff was quire rude, and it did not get resolved, it soon escalated into a worse situation, in which the hotel continued to become ruder and blame the situation on me. This rose to the point where my wife and I left our stay prematurely, paid to change out airfare, and went to a different hotel.
Part of the ongoing problem, other than the poor service and horrible treatment from the GM, stemmed from the fact that we were told by the concierge that we would receive certain discounts from the hotel by being platinum guests. When we checked out, the hotel refused to provide us with the promised discounts, still refused to address our issues regarding the spa and room, and stated if we do not sign the bill, they will not provide us with transportation to the airport. I wrote under protest on the bill, however I did not sign, and I clearly indicated the issues I had to the Manager on Duty.
Initially, in trying to resolve this with the Hotel, it took over 3 months before I got any response from the hotel GM, who would still not address the situation. Finally, I wrote the Marriott corporate office and disputed approximately $65 in charges, based on the promised discount.
It took the corporate office over 2 months to get the GM to respond to me. He stated that he would give me 25,000 points for my trouble, and 25,000 for the night I was out. (I was actually out 50,000, not 25,000). After two months, the points had still not credited. A college of mine put me in touch with a corporate liaison at Marriott Corporate. She got involved and got me the Marriot points. I decided to let the rest go at that time, though I was still not satisfied, nor felt that I was made whole. But I did not want to spend any more time dealing with this issue.
A few weeks after receiving the points, I received a very nasty accusatory letter from the General Manager, Robert Lohman. I responded and stated that had he responded to me sooner, I would not have to have gotten Marriott Corporate involved. A few days later, my credit card was charged an additional $195 by the property. I contacted both the corporate liaison and the GM.
A few days later, I got a letter in the mail from the hotel with a copy of the slip I signed at check in and a new copy of my bill, not the one from checkout. As the hotel refused to give me a copy of my bill at checkout, I have nothing to compare it to. I discussed this with the corporate liaison who stated Mr. Lohman said it was a mistake and he would credit it back.
Then, I got a letter from Chase saying that they cannot dispute the charges. It contained a very accusatory insulting letter from the hotel stating that I am lying, that there is no record of me being a Platinum guest so not entitled to the discount, and it include my original bill, however an unsigned credit slip was placed over the section where I stated Under Protest and my name was written by someone else. Chase believed that this was my signature, and could not proceed with the dispute.
At this point, I asked that teh corporate liaison intervene and give me a full refund on everything I paid and deal directly with the manager herself. She said that she is not able to intervene and I have to deal with the manager directly myself. That she has done all she can.
I asked Robert Lohman to investigate this, however I feel that he is part of the problem. I also asked for a full refund, and for a written apology from the hotel, outlining what they did wrong, as well as something to make up for the amount of time I have spend dealing with this.
I got a letter back, again written in a very accusatory manner, not apologizing for anything they did, and he included some math and said he would provide me with a refund to put this behind us. However his math is not taking into account this new charge. I wrote him to this affect, two weeks later, I had still not received a refund, and wrote again, another two weeks went by with no reply or refund.
I then wrote Mr. Marriott himself, and sent the letter registered mail with restricted delivery. I included all letters, and background information and asked for the following:
First, I would like an apology for the forgery from the General Manager and for the way the hotel handled themselves during this situation. This letter would include outlining what they did wrong. Secondly, I would like some type of in kind compensation for having to pay my airfare to go on a vacation that was so bad we had to walk out of the hotel, something I never thought I would have to do in my entire life, Especially at a JW Marriott. I would also like this in kind compensation to take into account the amount of time I have had to spend over the past 6 months. While I do not expect to get paid my hourly billable rate, I expect Marriott to do something to take care of this situation. I did not go to a Marriott Flag Ship hotel expecting to be treated poorly, taken advantage of, accused of creating a problem that they created, and then have them fraudulently charge me extra money and forge my signature forged.
Two weeks later I got a letter from the corporate liaison saying there is nothing else they can do. And that while the appreciate my request for additional compensation, they believe the gesture of goodwill the hotel has provided is enough.
After all is said and done, the hotel refunded the points for the night I did not stay, and refunded the extra money they charged, but they also reversed the dispute. I am also out money changing my flight (I realize it was my own choice), I have spend a lot of time dealing with this, but still the hotel charged me full price and did not give me the promised discount, they have not refunded anything, and have ruined my reputation with my credit card company. And Marriott will not do a thing about it.
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